Kim Jong-un was pictured cackling as he watched the testing of ‘suicide drones’ with a huge fireball explosion – just a few weeks after ally Vladimir Putin visited him in North Korea.
Photos of the delighted North Korean leader showed him evidently pleased by his regime’s latest demonstration of military hardware as he grinned dressed in a white safari jacket and a cream cap.
He was seen supervising a demonstration of the new exploding drones designed to crash into targets, state media said on Monday, as the US and South Korea engaged in joint military drills.
Test pictures displayed a white drone with X-shaped tails and wings supposedly crashing into and destroying a target resembling South Korea’s main K-2 battle tank.
In a speech, the leader called for the use of AI in developing ‘suicide drones of various types’.
Analysts suggest the North Korean drones shown in state media photos resemble Russian drones, implying friendship in the face of their separate confrontations with the US.
Kim Jong-un was pictured cackling as he watched the testing of ‘suicide drones’ with a huge fireball explosion at the Drone Institute of North Korea’s Academy of Defence Sciences
A target explodes during a performance test of drones overseen by Kim Jong Un
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un smiles while on a visit to the construction sites of various North Korean industrial factories on Saturday and Sunday
Analysts suggest the North Korean drones shown in state media photos resemble Russian drones, suggesting friendship in the face of their separate confrontations with the US
The North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Saturday’s test involved various types of drones built to fly different ranges to attack enemy targets on land and sea, and flew along various routes before accurately hitting test targets.
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After the test, Mr Kim pledged to spur the development of drones that explode on impact, conduct reconnaissance or attack targets underwater to boost his country’s war readiness, saying the North’s military should be equipped with advanced drones ‘as early as possible’, KCNA said.
The drone test came as the US and South Korean militaries carry out the large-scale Ulchi Freedom Shield drills, which continue until Thursday.
The exercises focus on enhancing their readiness against North Korean threats and include computer-simulated war games and live-fire training, with a combined aerial drill involving 60 warplanes that began its three-day run on Monday.
South Korea’s air force said the drill, which kicked off with precision-bombing demonstrations that included South Korean F-35 and F-16 fighter jets, is aimed at coping with North Korean threats posed by drones, cruise missiles and artillery.
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his visit to Pyongyang, North Korea
Kim Jong Un walks past workers on scaffolding, during a visit to the construction sites of various North Korean industrial factories
After the test, Mr Kim pledged to spur the development of drones that explode on impact, conduct reconnaissance or attack targets underwater to boost his country’s war readiness
Also on Monday, the US and South Korea also began a separate amphibious landing drill involving dozens of aircraft and vessels from their navies and marines, including US F-35 fighters and amphibious assault ship USS Boxer.
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South Korea’s military said the Ssangyong Exercise, which will continue until September 7, is aimed at sharpening combat interoperability.
Lee Chang Hyun, spokesman for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a briefing that South Korea’s military is closely examining North Korea’s drone capabilities and that the South’s military is equipped with systems to detect and intercept them. He did not provide further details.
Some analysts suggest the North Korean drones shown in state media photos resemble Russia’s Zala Lancet-3 drones, and Mr Lee said the South is looking into the possibility that Russia had helped North Korea acquire its drone capability.
‘We are aware that during the past exchanges between North Korea and Russia that some (drones) were given (to North Korea) as gifts,’ he said. ‘We would need to analyse various aspects, including whether (North Korea) would have modified to improve their capabilities or other possibilities.’
Vladimir Putin beamed as he was greeted by Kim Jong Un after touching town in North Korea
Honour guards take part in a ceremony welcoming Russia’s President Putin at an airport in Pyongyang, North Korea on June 19
The two men were pictured shaking hands and hugging each other on the runway before leaving the airport in the same car on June 19
Putin talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his visit to Pyongyang on June 19
North Korea and Russia have been aligning closely in the face of their separate confrontations with the US. Mr Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin held summits this June and in September last year.
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Washington and its allies have accused the countries of expanding an alleged arms arrangement in which North Korea provides Mr Putin with badly needed munitions to prolong Russia’s fighting in Ukraine in exchange for economic aid and technologies to upgrade Mr Kim’s nuclear-armed military.
Animosity on the Korean Peninsula is high as Mr Kim uses Russia’s war against Ukraine as a distraction while he strengthens his nuclear-armed military and issues verbal threats of conflict toward Washington and Seoul.
While most of the international attention has been focused on his long-range missiles designed to reach the US mainland, he has also been expanding weapons targeting rival South Korea, most notably short-range missiles and artillery systems the North has described as nuclear-capable.
Earlier this month, Mr Kim staged a huge ceremony in the capital, Pyongyang, to mark the delivery of 250 nuclear-capable missile launchers to frontline military units and called for a ceaseless expansion of the military’s nuclear programme.
Huge banners with a smiling photograph of the Russian leader reading ‘we ardently welcome President Putin!’ were hung from lamp-posts across Pyongyang alongside Russian flags
The North has denied giving Russia military hardware but, ahead of his trip, Putin thanked Kim Jong Un ‘s government for helping the war effort
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, right, arrive to attend the official welcome ceremony in the Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Wednesday, June 19, 2024
This added to concerns as he demonstrated an intent to deploy battlefield nuclear weapons along the North’s border with South Korea and claimed his military could react with pre-emptive nuclear strikes if it perceived the leadership was under threat.
In a closed-door briefing to politicians on Monday, South Korea’s spy agency said it is unclear whether North Korea is currently capable of producing enough missiles to fill up those launch vehicles, which are each designed to fire multiple missiles with potential range to cover most of South Korea’s greater capital area and central regions.
The agency said the North has been focusing its manufacturing capacities on producing missiles and other military equipment that are being supplied to Russia, according to the office of politician Park Sun-won, who attended the briefing.
Analysts say Mr Kim may seek to dial up pressure in a US election year as he advances his long-term goals of forcing Washington to accept the idea of the North as a nuclear power and negotiate economic and security concessions from a position of strength.
Ballistic missile launchers that North Korea has said it plans to deploy on the border with South Korea are believed to have a range of 110 km (68 miles), allowing them to target Chungcheong Province south of Seoul, the Yonhap news agency reported.
North Korean state media reported earlier this month that leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the delivery of 250 new tactical ballistic missile launchers described as modern tactical weapons personally designed by Kim to be transferred to the border.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un (R) attend a welcoming ceremony on June 19, 2024 in Pyongyang, North Korea
Kim Jong Un meets soldiers during a visit to a western operational training base in North Korea
Kim Jong Un, right, and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin shake hands after signing a comprehensive strategic partnership in Pyongyang, North Korea Wednesday, June 19, 2024
A tank T-64 drives by in Novoselivka Persha after driving out of Avdiivka, Ukraine
Experts have said Pyongyang could use them to attack or threaten Seoul.
South Korean intelligence officials, however, are sceptical over whether North Korea can supply enough missiles for the 250 missile launchers while it also supplies weapons to Russia as part of bilateral military cooperation, Yonhap reported on Monday, citing lawmakers on the intelligence committee.
North Korea and Russia have been accused of conducting arms trade by Seoul and Washington to help replenish Russia’s stock of missiles and artillery for its war with Ukraine. Pyongyang and Moscow have denied the allegations.
A Russian delegation led by a top trade official arrived in Pyongyang on Monday, state media reported.
The team was headed by Russian Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Roman Chekushov.
At the airport, the delegation was greeted by North Korea’s External Economic Relations Minister Yun Jong Ho as well as Russian embassy officials, and a reception followed, according to the report.
The visit comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin offered his country’s support over devastating floods that caused an unspecified number of deaths and damaged thousands of homes in late July.
The government has vowed to move 15,000 flood victims to the capital as international offers of support have poured in since news of the flooding disaster emerged.
South Korean media have reported that the number of dead and missing in the North from the floods could be as high as 1,500, but North Korean leader Kim Jong Un dismissed the reports as a provocation.
North Korea and Russia have been allies since the North’s founding after World War II and have drawn even closer since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
North Korea is accused of breaching arms control measures by supplying weapons to Russia for use in its war in Ukraine.
Natural disasters tend to have a greater impact on the isolated and impoverished country due to its weak infrastructure, while deforestation has left it vulnerable to flooding.
